What term describes the United States’ 250th anniversary in 2026?

The term for the United States’ 250th anniversary in 2026 is semiquincentennial.

The word combines “semi,” meaning half, with “quincentennial,” meaning a 500th anniversary. In this context, it identifies the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the country’s independence from Great Britain.

Several other labels have appeared in historical and popular usage, including sestercentennial, quarter-millennium, and bisesquicentennial. Semiquincentennial is the term most closely associated with the official national commemoration, commonly branded America250.

The word can be confused with bicentennial, which marks 200 years, or sesquicentennial, which marks 150 years. The 2026 observance follows the United States bicentennial in 1976 and precedes its tricentennial in 2076.